A pair of fraternal twins had some very interesting circumstances for coming into the world. Miles and Walter Erickson were born 11 minutes apart at Sutter Health’s Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in California. Miles was born at 11:58 p.m. on February 28, 2016. Walter was born at 12:09 a.m. on February 29.
It's extremely rare for twins to be born on different days. It's even rarer for one to be born on February 29 in a leap year. The chances of being born on a leap day are one in 1,461.
No one could have guessed that Miles and Walter would be born on either of these dates. The leap day twins were born 14 weeks early. The preemies each barely weighed 2 pounds at birth. The doctors, nurses, and staff at the ABSMC Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) helped the two make it home after 69 days in the hospital.
On their first and fourth birthdays, the twins celebrated with a return to the ABSMC NICU. The sweet boys reunited with all those who helped save their lives.
Miles and Walter Erickson have the most unique birthday story out there. The twins were born prematurely at 26 weeks old. The two boys had another surprise in store for their parents. They are also part of a rare group of twins who were born on separate days.
Miles was born at 11:58 p.m. on February 28, 2016. He weighed 2 lbs., 2.6 oz. Eleven minutes later, Walter was born at 12:09 a.m. on February 29. He weighed 2 lbs., 4.7 oz. The chances of being born on February 29 alone are 1 in 1,461.
The twins were even rare for Sutter Health’s Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, where the twins were born. More than 5,300 babies are born there each year. Of those, about 1,000 are premature and cared for by ABSMC’s Level III NICU. Of those babies, only 100 are born under 3 lbs.
During their time in the NICU, Miles and Walter received respiratory care, hydration, nutrition, and temperature control. They also provided parents Summer and Ryan Erickson with emotional and social support. Things were made easier by their confidence in their medical team.
This year, Miles and Walter returned to the medical center to reunite with the doctors, nurses, and staff who helped save them during the first 69 days of their lives. It was a sweet reunion for those people who helped guide them in those early days. They gathered with the family for a frog-themed celebration.
When the two were born, Summer and Ryan had ideas about what life would look like as their little boys grew up.
"We would be lying if we didn’t already anticipate a lot of teasing of each other about it," Summer told the Mercury News. She and Ryan had been thinking about celebrating both boys on the 28th with bigger, multiday celebrations during leap years.
The two were also grateful to staff for working with the boys. That gratitude for those people has only grown with the years.
"As scary and overwhelming as the whole experience has been, we’ve had a lot of calming moments because we know Walter and Miles are in the best of hands," she noted at the time.
Everyone looks forward to getting together again next leap year. The leaplings will be both 8 years old and 2 leap years old at that point. The humor and rarity of how these two boys came into the world will continue to provide beautiful memories for their families for years to come.
